PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday issued a notice to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi seeking his response in a contempt of court case regarding the use of official resources for political rallies, processions and protest activities.
A two-member bench headed by Peshawar High Court Chief Justice S.M. Atiq Shah heard the case.
During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel Barrister Yasin Raza argued that Sohail Afridi was using Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s official resources for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) political activities.
The counsel told the court that Sohail Afridi had used an official helicopter for the Lakki Marwat long march.
The petitioner’s counsel told the court that the Peshawar High Court had issued a judgment on in November 2025 banning the use of official resources for political activities, rallies and processions.
However, he said, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister used an official helicopter on 4 October to participate in a political long march in Lakki Marwat and was leading the march.
The lawyer said the court had clearly directed the provincial government and all relevant authorities not to use or allow the use of any official vehicle, machinery or government employees for protests, long marches, rallies or any political activity.
He argued that the action amounted to contempt of court and requested proceedings against the chief minister and an explanation regarding the use of the government helicopter and official resources for a political party’s march.
Barrister Yasin Raza said the chief minister used the official helicopter to travel from Peshawar to Lakki Marwat on 4 October, while a special helipad had been prepared at Gandi Chowk in Lakki Marwat for his arrival.
He said that, in addition to the official helicopter, its pilot, crew, fuel, technical staff, security personnel, administrative and protocol staff and other government resources were also used, which fell within the scope of a violation of the court order.
The petitioner’s counsel informed the court that photographs and videos of the chief minister attending the long march in the official helicopter were available and that the incident had also been reported by national, regional and digital media.
He argued that, as the province’s chief executive, the chief minister was responsible for ensuring compliance with the court order, but official resources had been used for a political activity in a deliberate violation of the judicial directive. He said the Peshawar High Court had clearly ruled that the use of official resources at political rallies was unlawful because those resources belonged to the public.
The chief minister, he argued, was the administrative head of the entire province and was responsible for ensuring that public resources were used for the people. No political party had a right to those resources, and their use at political gatherings would create problems.
Using official resources for a particular party amounted to exceeding authority and constituted a legal and ethical violation. He said the Peshawar High Court had also directed the chief secretary to ensure that all institutions operated within the Constitution and the law, and that government employees, resources and machinery were not used for any political purpose.
The court issued a notice to Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, seeking his response for violating the High Court orders.
Further proceedings in the case will be held on a date to be fixed by the court.
